Chance Encounter
by Splitheartwarrior
Summary: Basically a one-shot that can become a short story. Guin meets someone like him in a town they were just passing through. What is going on? NOT a love story so far, and I only own the traveler, all else is property of Guin Saga. This is a really bad summery...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Konor of Skylar inspired me to create an OC character of my own for the Guin Saga series…

NAME: Natasha

AGE: 18-19

TYPE: like Guin

GENDER: female

DESCRIPTION: Slightly shorter than Guin. She is slender but well toned and has pale-tan skin. Her head is that of a snow leopard with icy-blue eyes. Unlike Guin she also has a tail. She is not as strong as Guin – although still stronger than most humans – but is fast and very skilled at wielding either one or two swords. She is not one to trust others due to her past – much of which has become suppressed memories – and has never come across others like herself.

**0000000000000**

Twilight glimmers down softly on the streets of a busy town. Families are settled in their homes after having had dinner whilst the streets are home to late night drinkers and gamblers, just your typical town really. A lone figure navigates their way through the dizzy groups. Their head is down and hidden by a large black-brown cloak, which also hides the slender form underneath. Passing yet another bar – _seriously how many does this town need?_ – the traveler shudders slightly when some of the drunkards spot them. _Just go back to drinking. Ignore the random traveler… just leave me be… oh damn._ "Well what do we 'ave here," a large burly man with no hair slurs as he walks towards the cloaked individual, "Are ya lost kid?" The traveler ignores him and keeps walking, only to be stopped by a greasy hand grabbing individual's waist. "Looks like we got ourselves a little lady," the man – _decidedly thug 1_ – hollers to his buddies before getting his hand smacked away really hard, "Ow! What the he- Follow her!" _This is just not my day, _the traveler thought bitterly as she sprinted down a side street, injuries from a previous misfortune flaring angrily. The three thugs were faster than she'd expected and were closing the distance quickly, apparently not as drunk as she'd originally thought. Grabbing for her swords under her cloak she was struck in the back hard, the blow sending her reeling into a pile of crates nearby. The impact reopened some of her injuries and jarred her partially healed ribs, forcing a muffled gasp of pain from her mouth.

Unbeknownst to any of them the commotion caught the attention of another cloaked traveler, the leopard warrior Guin. Fury coursed through him when he saw one of the men strike the fleeing individual, bile rising in his throat when the female's gasp reached his hears. The faint smell of blood hung in the air. Letting out a furious roar he leapt towards the offending men, knocking out one of them on impact, while a single round-house kick sent the second man flying into a nearby wall. Turning to the last man – A.K.A. thug 1 – Guin grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off of the traveler he'd recently climbed on top of. "LEAVE. HER. BE." Guin ground out in a dangerously low growl while his eyes bore into the struggling man. Pausing only for a second he shot the man head first into the wall he'd previously kicked one of the other men into, likely giving the man a serious concussion.

The traveler watched in a slight daze as the last man was disposed of, her ice-blue eyes never leaving the newcomer. _He can't be…_ she thought as she stared at the man's head which had become uncovered in the fight. The leopard headed warrior turned towards her with a concerned look, "Are you alright ma'am?" "Just peachy." She deadpanned while attempting to get up. White hot agony seared through her and caused her to fall, her wounds screaming in protest as black spots clouded her vision. _This is really not my day…_

Seeing her collapse in pain Guin quickly reached out and caught her before she could hit the ground. "Miss are you ok? Miss?" No response. Picking up her limp form Guin stared in shocked disbelief as the traveler's cloak slipped off her head. Silver and white fur greeted his gaze as he looked in awe at the woman's face; she had the head of a snow leopard. A low groan from one of the drunkards snapped him out of his daze. _I need to get her out of here._ Casting a swift look at his surroundings Guin cradled the injured snow leopard in his arms before setting off, moving quickly to get out of the town.

**0000000000000**

_Where am I? _Icy eyes slowly opened and cleared. The starry sky was all she could see. The soothing crackle of a camp fire caught her attention. _Strange… I don't recall setting up camp. _Suddenly remembering the events from earlier she bolted upright, startling the leopard headed warrior who had been staring at the fire. "You shouldn't move so quickly," he stated after having apparently recovered from the initial shock, "you'll only make your injuries worse." Huffing in frustration and annoyance the snow leopard turned herself towards him, ignoring the sharp sting from her wounds.

"I suppose I have you to thank for earlier," she said evenly. He may look like one of her kind but trust was a whole different story. The warrior just shrugged and turned back to the fire, "I was just doing what was right." The traveler thought about what he said for a moment, silence lengthening between them. Deciding to gather some Intel she spoke up, "Who are you?" "Guin." "Guin huh? Where are you from? What are you?" {Déjà vu anyone?} "I don't know." _Like me…_ she thought to herself, deciding he was telling the truth. She was pretty good at knowing when someone was lying to her. The curious confused stare from Guin made her skin prickle, "What?" "Nothing," he said as he once again looked at the fire, having decided it best not to ask… yet. The traveler would have none of it.

"Just spit it out already!" she shouted in annoyance, her long spotted silver tail lashing back and forth. Guin nearly fell from his seat, "W-What?!" The traveler just cocked her head to one side in confusion before realizing he was staring at her tail. "Well that's different… do you not have a tail or something?" she couldn't help but purr in amusement. "No." _oh…_ The thought made her feel sick and she had to fight back the urge to check for herself, "Are you serious?" The look on his face said it all. Once again an awkward silence stretched between the two as unasked questions buzzed in the atmosphere. Guin watched her closely as he seemed to pull his thoughts together, a feat the traveler was struggling to accomplish. She wasn't exactly used to actually talking to someone. He finally broke the silence, "What is your name?"

The traveler blinked in surprise, her ice-blue eyes stretched wide open. _Did he seriously just ask me that?_ No one has ever bothered to ask for her name before, tonight was really full of firsts for her, and for Guin too from the look of it. "Natasha," she finally replied, "my name is Natasha." "Natasha…" Guin quietly mouthed to himself, he had no intention of forgetting that name. Reaching into a small sack he'd been carrying with him he pulled out some dried meat. Tearing it in half he offered some to her, "Here, you're probably hungry." Giving a slight nod of thanks Natasha took the meat, knowing all too well she was in no shape to hunt for her own meal tonight. Maybe tonight was ok after all.

**00000000000000000000000000000**

**Author's Note:**

Aaaand here it is, my second fanfic. Not sure if this will become a short story or just stay a one-shot. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note****:**

I can't seem to leave my random ideas alone, though this one wasn't exactly random. So as you readers have guessed this is no longer a one-shot. Inclusion of romance is still undecided.

**Chapter 2**

The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, casting only just enough light to see. Guin sat by the fire – which had burned out a little over an hour ago – casting glances at the still sleeping snow leopard in awe. Never before had he met or even seen another who was like him and his mind was swarming with questions. He didn't plan to ask right away though since she obviously wasn't quick to trust others, and he didn't want to push.

It was lighter out when Natasha finally woke up, letting out a hiss of pain as she stood up. "Carefull," Guin cautioned while moving to steady her. Natasha brushed his hand away and gave a somewhat greatfull smile, "Thanks but no thanks, I'll be fine." Guin had a hard time believing her due to the pained look in her eyes as well as the somewhat alarming scent of fresh blood. "You're bleeding again," he replied bluntly, fixing her with a stern yet worried glare. She glared right back, "I've had worse, so it's nothing I can't handle. I'm not fragile like most women." In what appeared to be her trying to prove her point she shoved by him with the intent to leave, but ended up doubling over and spitting blood on the grass when an audible crack resounded in the air, "stupid drunk bastards… was finally healing too…" Guin didn't gloat or say the typical "I told you so" when this happened. Kneeling in front of her he waited silently for her to steady her breathing and look up. When she did look up her eyes were full of anger and pain, but he noticed fear in there as well.

Natasha's vision was blurry for a few moments and her mouth tasted of copper. One of her cracked ribs had just snapped. The leopard warrior was kneeling in front of her, waiting. She still wasn't entirely sure if she could trust him, she had only just met him last night after all, but she was cautiously hoping he was trustworthy. It angered her that she was so helpless – no thanks to those thugs who'd chased her – she'd been healing rather well before then. Looking back up to the warrior Guin she mumbled, "Well what are your plans now? I'm not in any position to stop you."

"My only plan Natasha is to help, though I'm not sure how," he responded. He actually had a decent idea of what to do, but that would definitely be crossing a few lines. Treating a woman's injuries was a far cry from what it is like dealing with a guy's. The thought made him look away. "Let me get you some supplies," he spoke as he stood and walked over to his pack, choosing to just pick up the whole thing and bring it back to her, "I recently bought this since I was traveling through town." To his relief the snow leopard's eyes seemed to soften a little at his gesture as she dipped her head in gratitude. He then turned his back and went to sit over on a nearby stump to let her treat her wounds without an audience.

In truth she could have really used the help when it came to bandaging her numerous wounds, but she was glad that Guin had left it to her. Trust as well as modesty were her main reasons for not asking for help. Breathing a sigh of relief when the bindings supported her ribs enough to allow movement Natasha redressed and brought the remaining supplies back to the leopard warrior. "Thanks," she mumbled awkwardly while he nodded and took the bag. "It was nothing." Standing in silence for a moment she debated what she should do now, finally looking back at Guin cautiously, "so… where are you headed exactly?" The warrior looked suprized by the question but didn't hesitate to answer, "North… to see if I can find out who I am. Why do you ask?" _Well, at least it's not the direction I was avoiding…_ Shifting her weight from one foot to the other the snow leopard worked up the nerve to ask, since he hadn't proved to be a threat so far, "I um… I don't really have any specific destination to go to… I guess I was wondering if you would let me tag along for a while."

Guin couldn't help but feel relieved and hopefull because of her request. Maybe having someone who was like him to travel with would aid in regaining his memory. The relief however, was mostly because he didn't like the idea of Natasha traveling by herself with such serious injuries. "You are welcome to do so," he finally responded, noticing a brief moment of excitement flash in her eyes before once again returning to the usual guarded gaze. _Hopefully some day she will realize she can trust me._

**00000000**

It was now midday and the two warriors were walking along a dirt path surrounded by large fields with the occasional tree here or there, the tall grass swaying in the light breeze. The pace was slow, though Guin did his best to not let it seem like he was going slower than normal. She definitely didn't show it, but Guin could tell that Natasha was wearing out easily and needed rest more often than she let on. Since they weren't anywhere near any towns or villages the two had decided to travel without their cloaks on. It did tend to get uncomfortable wearing a large cloak over one's armor in late spring after all. Despite the snow leopard's demeanor Guin was still slightly surprised by her attire. She wore a light set of silver-grey armor which mostly consisted of a chest-plate, shoulder guards, and knee guards; the rest being a short-sleeved shirt with a leather belt and pants with wrapped shoes (see art/Natasha-439306042 for a picture reference from my best friend). She also carried two swords slung across her back, which showed signs of frequent use unlike a sertaint Mongaul female "warrior" he'd crossed swords with in Nospheros.

A single massive oak tree came into view by the road, its gnarled trunk twisting high into the sky where it split off into a canopy of heavily leaved branches. Natasha looked ready to pass out so Guin decided to walk towards the tree for a break. She glared but followed suit, not about to turn down the much needed break.


End file.
